WHALES. 237 



genus, is the immense size of the head which is, at the 

 least, equal to a third, and in some to a naif of the body. 

 The upper jaw is remarKao.y broad and deep, with a 

 very hard gum, in which there are generally some rudi- 

 ments of teeth, and also cavities to receive the teeth of 

 the lower jaw, which are strong, conical, and very for- 

 midable. The spermaceti is found in a cavity under 

 the snout of these animals, and the substance known 

 by the name of ambergris, is found in their intestines. 

 None of their mouths are furnished with plates and 

 fringes of baleen, as they are all capable of biting and 

 seizing their prey. Their throats are a great deal wider 

 than those of the common whale ; and the remains of 

 fishes, even sharks more than twelve feet in length, 

 have been found in their stomachs. Their ferocity, 

 indeed, forms a remarkable contrast to the gentle man- 

 ners of the balana mysticetus. There are a good many 

 species of spermaceti whales, inhabiting different parts 

 of the globe ; but the most remarkable for size and 

 character are the following, all of which have been met 

 with on the British shores, and in other parts of the 

 European seas : 



The GREAT-HEADED. Physeter Microcephalus. 

 The BLUNT-HEADED. Physeter Trumpo. 

 The SMALL-EYED. Physeter Microps. 



The GREAT-HEADED SPERMACETI WHALE is a very 

 clumsy-looking animal. The back is black, or slate- 

 colour, sometimes mottled with white, and the under 

 part white. The head has something the appearance 

 of a great tilted wagon ; the jaws are of immense 

 depth, the eyes small, and very far from the snout, the 



